Alright, maggots!  Donavon said. You all have the distinct honor of mining minerals for the beautiful, benevolent Desert Queen. The quota is five kilos a day. Don’t really care how you manage it.

And what if we refuse? A lizardman said.

Yeah, give my daughter back! Another said. 

Donavon signaled to the guards and had them removed. Any other questions?

The dungeon fell silent. Even Shobai was at a loss for words. 

After spraying them down, Donavon directed a goblin medic to examine the new recruits: a mix of lizardmen, dwarfs, and... Shobai. 

With frantic nods and unsettling yelps, the medic quickly paired them off until one by one. But as he approached Shobai, a guttural, hiss of disgust exploded from his mouth.

Rebbarg ttub! The goblin muttered. It was incomprehensible to Shobai, but the guards seemed to understand. In unison, they all took a step back, several shielding their butts. 

I’m not a pervert! Shobai said, his heart pounding. Why won’t anyone believe me!

BOOM. 

Suddenly, a nearby control tower exploded, shaking the dungeon level to its core.

As guards rushed to put out the fire, Shobai caught something unusual: what looked like a fur-covered creature catapulting from the tower, through the smoke into a very firm boulder right next to them. I couldn’t have been much bigger than Shobai. Was it a demon, a monster, maybe a troll? He couldn’t tell. Not that it mattered. No one could survive a blast from that height. A breathless hush fell over the shaken crowd as a lone guard cautiously approached.

Stop pretending. The guard said and prodded the creature with his weapon. I know that wasn’t enough to kill you.

To Shobai’s amazement, he was right. The creature subtly peeked up, and then as if sustaining no injuries, bolted past the stunned guard. It leaped onto a nearby rafter and took off at full speed down the mining shaft towards the portal.

Jail break. Shobai thought. Who would have thought he’d see one on his first day. Maybe now was the perfect time to sneak away. He instinctively turned to Donavon—only to see the ogre had vanished.

AHHHH! A voice screamed.

Shobai’s eyes widened in disbelief. Somehow Donavon, a massive three hundred and fifty kilograms of terror, had teleported to the creature, lifting it into the air like a midday snack. The creature thrashed wildly, a desperate struggle against an unstoppable force. This was the raw power of an ogre warrior.

You weren’t planning on leaving me, were you Puddles? The ogre grinned and jangled a pair of chains in his hand. And after I’ve gone through all this trouble to find you a new chain-mate.